


Freckles, Dots, and Ladybug Spots

by caibi



Series: What Makes a Ladybug [1]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: F/M, Identity Reveal, ladybug has freckles and chat does not know how to deal
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-07
Updated: 2015-11-07
Packaged: 2018-04-30 06:51:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,671
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5154323
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/caibi/pseuds/caibi
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>He traced the spots on her skin like they were parts of a constellation; little stars that would light the way. He didn't know he'd follow the trail to the one he'd been meant to find.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Freckles, Dots, and Ladybug Spots

**Author's Note:**

> hey hey i haven't written a fic in forever but i got into miraculous ladybug and here i am. i got this idea from a couple of early stills before the show started. i vaguely remember someone shouting about how marinette has freckles and i thought it was perfect. warning: stupid villain name is stupid and i barely edited this

Winter had turned tail weeks ago, buds and tiny green sprouts left in its wake.

Small green weeds crept up from the cracks, curling round fences and draping themselves over street corners. With the vast blanket of white vanished, the sun directed its attention to the freshly turned soil, to the dark and yielding concrete streets, to the flushed faces of children rushing around parks.

It was on a warm spring afternoon that he first noticed.

The akuma was a tougher one; now that the ice had relented and the air had less bite, everyone was less reluctant to move about. Villains and civilians alike, people were altogether more present than they had been in the winter months. It was easy to avoid a ruckus when passersby would much rather rush themselves into the nearest cafe, shop, or otherwise warm place than to stand and gawk at yet another Ladybug-and-Chat-Noir-battle-for-good-against-evil. The akuma themselves were much less dynamic, their movements slow and stalling between shivers. Chat himself couldn't quite understand why he didn't seem as affected by the cold. He'd considered the possibility that it was another property of the kwami's power, or perhaps the adrenaline rush of a fight, or maybe it was just the warm feeling he got from being with his Lady. Whatever the reason, he was glad for it.

Now, however, people would stop to stare from crosswalks or shopfronts, crowding along the edges of the fight without a care ("Ladybug will protect us, you know! She wouldn't let us come to harm," Chat would hear from the sidelines every now and then). They were, however, a bit ignorant of their position, and if it weren't for the combined perceptiveness of the two heroes, the civilians could in fact be in very real danger. Now that the akuma were becoming more mobile in this warmer weather, it was getting increasingly difficult to keep up with their movements while also protecting the crowd.

This particular villain was a florist. Her arrangements for the Spring Festival hadn't quite met the mayor's flamboyant expectations, and he had chosen instead a younger and more modern floral expert. The woman's rose beds were scrapped and the topiaries discarded. Her daffodil centerpieces, once bright and full of life, were left to wilt in the back of her shop.

The Gardener, as she came to be called, was on a rampage. She beckoned the weeds to pull up between sidewalk cracks and to cover the roads completely. She called forth long strings of ivy to wrap around buildings and barricade doors. The trees in the park grew exponentially, their thick foliage creating a canopy above a handful of streets. 

The fight had already lasted a good half hour, the akuma swinging from vines in a manner that eerily resembled Ladybug's own preferred method of transportation. The two were caught in a chase, Ladybug hot on The Gardener's tail but not quite able to reach. Chat Noir watched from the ground, hopelessly searching for some way to help. He had initially trailed them from the rooftops, but after realizing that this was ineffective he had hopped to the streets. Stuck in an odd limbo, Chat could do little but follow the hunt with his eyes.

"Chat! The vine!" 

Chat immediately followed the direction of Ladybug's stare; there was a loose vine lying in the middle of the street. It took him a minute, but he finally realized what his partner had meant by the exclamation. He quickly ran to pick it up, tying it to a lamppost. He then sprinted to the other side of the ivy-covered street, pulling the vine taught so that it stretched across the street's width like a trip wire. The Gardener, looking back at Ladybug, had not been paying attention to Chat's antics. But she had been swinging low as she neared him and ran right into the vine. The akuma stumbled over it and rolled, landing on her face a few yards from the impact. 

As The Gardener attempted to peel herself from the ground, Ladybug landed swiftly at her companion's side.

"Good one, kitty."

"Thank you, my Lady," Chat said, turning to her with his cheshire smile. "I do try."

"Now we just need to get her trowel," Ladybug started, breathing heavily. There was a light sheen of sweat atop her forehead and her cheeks were stained pink. "That's where the akuma-"

A loud chuckle and the sharp _crack,_  like that of a whip, cut off whatever Ladybug was about to say.

"You're one troublesome cat!" cackled The Gardener. "I should have dealt with you before, I suppose. Ah, well. Now I can kill two birds with one stone."

In a single fluid motion, she flicked a vine through the air and over to the duo. Before either of them could respond, they were wrapped up in The Gardener's vine, pressed together and noses barely brushing.

Recovering from the shock of being suddenly seized, Chat flashed a toothy grin at his partner. "Well hello, my Lady." To really get his flirtatious point across, he carried out his vowels and raised an eyebrow.

A growl creeping up the back of Ladybug's throat, she quipped "Not now, Chat!" as she struggled to free herself from their restraints. Her hands, however, were pinned to her sides, and the plant itself was too thick to simply rip through. 

The Gardener continued cackling in the background, steadily striding forward with the proclamation "Perfect! I can take your miraculous now!"

Ladybug's eyes nearly burst out of her head at that, flexing her muscles and writhing her body as much as she could. "Chat! Do something! Use cataclysm for heaven's sake!" she demanded angrily.

Snapping out of his momentary trance - he was prone to that while in close quarters with his Lady - Chat activated cataclysm. His hands were bound beneath the vine, so as soon as he had used his power, they fell apart. Immediately, Ladybug used her lucky charm. She was rewarded with weed killer, which she handed off to Chat. Within the next second, he was spun around and launched at the villain. Ladybug had pushed him straight at her, hoping that he would do something about that sinister looking fly trap in The Gardener's hand. 

Slow as he was to respond in the presence of Ladybug, Chat got the hint relatively quickly. He used the weed killer to destroy the plant -akuma plants must be much more sensitive to the stuff than regular weeds - and dodged right as Ladybug threw herself at the villain as well. She took hold of her trowel and smashed it. One swing of her yo-yo and a cleansing light later, the street was cleared of foliage and The Gardener returned to a very confused florist.

Chat whipped back around to his partner, seeming to search her face for something.

"Aha!" He finally exclaimed.

Ladybug blinked, bewildered.

Chat Noir pointed to her nose. "You have freckles, my Lady!" He squinted for effect. "I thought I saw them when we were face to face, you know, wrapped up in that vine. But now that I see you clearly, it's undeniable that you have them."

Chat seemed to radiate excitement. Ladybug blinked again.

"Okay. Yes, I have freckles. It happens when it starts getting sunny. Is there a point to this, kitty?"

"No point, no, aside from the fact that they are positively cute. They really suit you, my Lady."

Ladybug wrinkled her nose. "Alright, calm down there."

"Ah, I'm sorry. Didn't mean to make you uncomfortable," Chat stated. Contradicting his words of limiting discomfort, he leaned in a bit closer to really examine the small spray of freckles dotting Ladybug's face. "Little spots are perfectly suiting of ladybug."

"That's enough, kitty," said Ladybug, pinching her partner's nose and pulling his face away.

"Aw, but my Lady-" he was interrupted by the beeping of his ring.

"That's enough for today. I'd really rather not stick around to hear your civilian self drawl on about my freckles as well," Ladybug bid him farewell and took off down the street.

Chat waved his good-bye, still fixated on the ladybug's little spots.

* * *

Weeks passed. The sun stayed in the sky longer by the day, and akuma sprouted up only to be beaten down. Homework piled up by the hour, and exams were fast approaching. Patrols came and went, each time punctuated by a certain cat's inquiring comments. Ladybug's patience wore thin by the second.

The first patrol after The Gardener incident left him wondering.

"My Lady, how long have you had them?"

The heroine sighed. "Had what, Chat?"

"Your freckles, of course."

"I-I suppose I've always had them? Since I was little, they'd always become more prominent toward the summer."

A few days later, during an akuma battle, Chat found himself in close quarters with his partner once again.

"How many of them do you have? Freckles, I mean."

"Now is not the time, you silly kitty," Ladybug sighed.

The next patrol after that:

"Well? _Have_ you counted them?"

"Oh my god."

The next three patrols included a very curious cat in very close proximity.

"I'm just trying to see how many you have!" he whined, being pulled by the nose away from her face.

He was met with a low grumble each time.

One time, he had informed her "You have a small cluster right at the base of your nose, your left side! How interesting."

She blatantly ignored this comment.

A handful of battles and nightly walks later, Ladybug was exasperated. She had shown up to Thursday's patrol with a pointed glare, daring him to mention her 'ladybug spots.'

Chat apparently did not get the hint. An hour later, he piped up with a "My Lady, do your freckles-?"

He was immediately cut off with the stomp of a foot. Ladybug was walking away from him with heavy steps. "That's it, kitty. I think I'm going home for tonight. Feel free to continue the patrol on your own." And with that, she was gone, swinging from rooftops and back to her home.

Chat was left baffled.

 

"Tikki, was I too harsh on him?"

"I don't know, Marinette. The questions _were_ harmless, if annoying."

The girl groaned into her pillow. "I'm going to have to apologize..."

The kwami landed atop Marinette's head, gently patting it as she offered her advice. "I think...I think that the blame doesn't rest solely on either of you. Both of you got a bit worked up."

"I guess..." came the muffled reply.

"Chat's inquiries were, in fact, quite frustrating and unnecessary-"

"I know! I don't think I'd be half as upset if he didn't distract from battles with all that nonsense. I'm used to his usual, er, flirting, but this is just too much. Our jobs come first, socializing next. Especially stupid questions about stupid freckles."

Tikki sighed. "But, Marinette. That's all they are. Silly questions. You don't have to let them bother you so much."

"Ah, I guess you're right. You're always right, Tikki," she lifted her head from the pillow to look at her kwami. Tikki gave her a sweet smile.

"Not always, just most of the time," she giggled. Marinette joined in on the laughter, chuckling all the way to her vanity as she plopped herself in front of her mirror. Staring at her face, she wondered aloud: "How many _do_ I have...?"

 

"All I wanted was to see her freckles a bit more."

"Adrien, I don't know if I've told you before, but you're the biggest dork I've ever met."

"Wow thanks, Plagg. You've mentioned it before. Several times, in fact."

"And that's saying something. Do you know how long I've lived? How many dorks I've met?"

"Okay, I get it I get it!" Adrien exclaimed.

"I'm not sure you do," Plagg stated. "I hope you realize how creepy you came across."

The boy let out a long breath. "I must've seemed...pretty creepy."

Plagg remained silent.

"Yikes," Adrien bit out. "She must think I'm trying to find a way to identify her in her civilian clothes or something. Examining her face all the time...I swear I was just curious!"

"Doesn't matter what your intentions were, just how they were conveyed. And it looked a lot like you were studying her face as if it was your physics review sheet the day before finals."

"Yikes," Adrien repeated. "Can we-can we please forget this entire conversation ever happened?"

"Only if you get me some Camembert," Plagg insisted.

Adrien shook his head, but went down to the kitchen anyway.

* * *

 The very next day, Marinette was running late. 

Very, Very late. 

She had stayed up much later than she should have on a school night, contemplating, counting, then contemplating some more. Needless to say, she was a frustrated, frazzled wreck.

She was already 45 minutes late to her first class by the time she showed up, and still had to rifle through her locker for her history textbook. It was a minute later, as she was leaving the locker room, when it happened.

She had collided with another person, knocking them both straight to the ground, books and all. Already victim of a pounding headache, the impact had only made it worse. Marinette sat, eyes squeezed shut and rubbing her temples.

"Oh god, I'm so sorry," exclaimed a familiar voice. "Oh!" The voice came a bit closer. "You have freckles! They really suit you." 

Marinette let out an anguished sigh. "YES Chat I have freckles! We've been over th-" She stopped when she opened her eyes. Oh.

It was Adrien. Adrien Agreste. Sitting right in front of her. Inches from her face. And she had just called him 'Chat.' In her frenzy, and caught up even further in her renewed annoyance, the comment reminded her so much of one irritatingly curious cat.

She froze. "Um, I mean, I-I, uh....."

Adrien looked just as shocked. "Ch-Chat....?"

"N-No! I mean, i-it just kinda slipped and...um-"

He had grabbed Marinette's shoulders and started to frantically search her face.

"A-Adrien?" Her face was surely bright red.

"You've got a little cluster of them. Right...right at the base of your nose. On your left."

Marinette's eyes widened. 

"My Lady?" Adrien probed.

"Oh my god," Marinette responded.

At that, the boy broke out into laughter. "Oh my _god_. I've been so stupid. You were her the whole time! I thought I would recognize Ladybug anywhere, but apparently I've been blind!"

Caught between Adrien's fit of giggles and this new revelation that her dear Adrien was none other than the unbearably cheesy and flirtatious Chat Noir, Marinette herself devolved into a hysterical state.

Unbeknownst to her, Adrien had also stayed up late into the night, unable to stop reliving the embarrassment that Chat Noir had caused for him. He had overslept and arrived to school late. Very late. 

Hysteria was easily achieved by two sleep deprived teenagers who have just stumbled upon each other's greatest secret.

A few minutes passed and the laughter bubbled out.

"I can't believe it..." Adrien said.

"I've been so oblivious!" Marinette buried her head in her hands.

Typically, Chat Noir would respond to his blushing Ladybug with a lighthearted, flirtatious quip and an attempt to pat her shoulder, or something to that effect. Now that his dual lives have revealed themselves, his hesitant behavior was bleeding into his flamboyant one. After a brief moment, he decided to take action.

"My Lady," He whispered, like a secret, like a special code meant not for two schoolchildren but for a pair of Parisian heroes, sneaking around at night and scouting about for signs of danger. Adrien, Chat, whoever he was, took hold of his partner's hands and pulled them from her face. "Marinette."

It was odd hearing both of those names in sequence. The girl looked up and met Adrien's eyes. "Yes, silly kitty?" She said with a raw kind of courage.

Adrien smiled. "I stand by my claim. Those freckles really do suit you rather well."

 

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> i was thinking about continuing this, but it's 4:30 am on a day that had followed a week full of midterms. let me know if you want a continuation, though. i might just get around to it! i am also terrible at writing action scenes i am so sorry  
> my tumblr is caibii so if you're in the neighborhood come say hi!


End file.
